For Millennials, Retirement Is A State Of Mind, And So Is Uncertainty

People born in the 1980s are old enough to have had conversations with their parents about the financial decisions their parents made as they approached middle age, and they have come away from those conversations painfully aware that the world is a very different place from what it was a generation ago.  Your parents received retirement planning advice based on the assumption that people stay at the same salaried job for a long period of time and then retire in their mid-60s, supporting themselves with retirement accounts, pensions, and Social Security.  For millennials, all of those resources are scarce.  For millennials and for every generation, financial decisions about the future say as much about external conditions as about personal financial values.  Even if you do not have, and do not want, any of the creature comforts to which your parents aspired, you still need an estate plan if you are in your 30s or older, and an Orlando estate planning lawyer can help you get started.

Save for the Present and for the Future

The job market is so uncertain that most people in their 30s and early 40s are used to living below their means; it is the only way to ensure that you will still be able to afford necessities throughout the fluctuations of the gig economy.  It is understandable not to know when, if ever, you will be able to retire.  Even if you do not have an employer-provided retirement fund, it is important to put part of every paycheck into savings.  You can think of it as an emergency fund, and when it gets big enough, you can put parts of it into longer term investments or decide that you can afford to spend some of the money you have saved.

The Real Danger of FOMO Is Risky Investments, Not Avocado Toast

No matter your age, the easiest way to tank your retirement plans is to take money out of savings and put it into get rich quick opportunities.  In some ways, it is wiser to spend money on non-necessities that you are sure you want, such as travel, than it is on things that may or may not pay off in the future.

Lack of Home Ownership Might Make Things Simpler

It is more difficult for millennials to buy their own homes than it was for the preceding generations.  Whether or not buying a house is in your future plans, you still need to save for the future.  If you can work out housing plans that are less expensive than buying a house or condominium, then you will have more money to save for other future expenses.

Contact Gierach and Gierach About Planning for a Retirement That Might Never Happen

An estate planning lawyer can help you make financial plans for the distant future, even in uncertain times where making it to tomorrow feels like a major undertaking.  Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

kiplinger.com/personal-finance/604750/millennials-want-a-different-kind-of-retirement